Roy Keane's renegade streak always marked him out as a potentially great pundit. His performance on Tuesday night shows he is now delivering on that promise, writes Jonathan Liew

Despite finishing as a goalless draw, the World Cup qualifier between Spain and Ireland in Seville in 1992 was notable for two reasons.

The first was the memorable and unintentionally mirthful reaction of RTE commentator George Hamilton to the Spain manager’s decision to substitute Emilio Butragueno: “He’s pulling him off! The Spanish manager is pulling his captain off!" The other was that it was the night when Roy Keane came of age as a world-class midfielder.

Jack Charlton’s Ireland was an ugly side: brutish, limited but wholly effective, a cultural legacy you might argue the current side are still struggling to escape. But in the middle of all this lumping and thumping stood the peerless, 21-year-old Keane: effortlessly gliding the ball around, drifting into space, gathering the ball with one touch and keeping it glued there, as poignantly distinct as a child singing a madrigal in the middle of a cage fight.

In Charlton’s team, even the simple act of playing a short pass felt like a small rebellion. “When I get the ball, I try and play a bit of football,” he told Irish journalist Liam Mackey after that game. “But, obviously, the way we play — which I suppose is the long ball game — I have to be careful.”

It was early proof of Keane’s renegade streak. There is a part of him that is not only comfortable being completely at odds with his environment, but actually rather enjoys it. It is what made him a great footballer. It may yet be what makes him an even greater pundit.

Keane’s performance for ITV last night invites parallels with Seville 1992. His broadcasting career is at a roughly similar point: nascent, burgeoning, dotted with moments of real promise but awaiting a truly definitive performance. In just a few short minutes at Old Trafford, Keane provided it.

Let us deal fairly swiftly with the issue of whether Nani actually deserved a red card: for the purposes of punditry, it doesn’t matter. The minimum requirement for a broadcaster is to ensure that viewers are not left ignorant of the rules. Adrian Chiles recited the relevant rule at the outset: job done. Now sit back and enjoy the bun fight.

Keane took stage first, launching a perfectly judged stream of invective laced with poison eyebrows and implied exclamation marks. All the tools of the arch polemicist were on display. In order to aid annotation of the text that follows, these have been numbered.

1) a view entirely antithetical to the prevailing tide of opinion

2) a faint whiff of hypocrisy, particularly with regard to one’s own career

And so he began. “I actually think he’s made the right call [1]. Whatever people are getting upset about [3], any time I was sent off in my career I always thought [2]: ‘Did I give the referee a chance to send me off?’ And if the answer was ‘yeah’, then it’s out of your hands. Everyone’s upset about it [3], but it’s dangerous play.”

At this point, Lee Dixon attempted to interpose himself: “Do you think ...”

“Whether he meant it or not is irrelevant! [4]” Keane finished triumphantly, before graciously yielding the floor.

Then, as Gareth Southgate attempted to speak for the first time, Keane butted in again. “It’s dangerous play [1] [2] [4],” he said. “It’s a red card.”

Keane allowed Southgate to speak for exactly six seconds. “You say he’s not aware of the player coming, Gareth [4],” he interrupted. Does he not think there’ll be other footballers on the pitch? [5] Does he think he’s going to have 20 yards to himself?”

“The ref might argue it was a brave decision, Roy,” Chiles suggested. Keane glared at Chiles as if he had just suggested they film a Harlem Shake.

“Doesn’t matter if it was brave or not [4],” Keane retorted. “And listen, Nani’s a quick boy to go down anyway [5]. I think the referee got it right [1]. We can argue all day [3]. It was dangerous play [1] [2].”

What marvellous television. And while ITV get a lot of stick for their football coverage, when they get it right, they really do get it right.

More importantly, it was a glimpse of the hall-of-fame pundit Keane could yet become. In his early appearances for ITV, he appeared laboured, still wearing the sackcloth of the ex-Championship manager rather than the laurels of the seven-time Premier League winner. But just as in everything else – except, ironically, Keane’s management career – he has grown quite magnificently into the role.

Those who were in Seville on November 18, 1992 were convinced they were watching an all-time great in the making. Those who were in front of a television on March 5, 2013 may have some idea of how they felt.

Nice to see a positive article about Roy Keane's honest assessment of the Nani red card. It would be very interesting to know how many of the rabid critics denouncing him from our fanbase, most of whom I'd wager have never paid to go to Old Trafford and watch him perform, are the same people that moan about how shit Match of the Day (their only source of watching United) presenters are for sitting on the fence and not having any real debate.

A lot of people have gone very overboard with taking Keane to task over this. I definitely think he's still a bit bitter over how he left the club and towards Sir Alex, we've already seen the two come to verbal-blows this season. But everything otherwise points to him still loving the club.

Why is this big news about Keane, It was a red card by the letter of the law. Van Persie I remember got sent off once against Rosenberg for the same thing a while go. People should blame Nani and no one else.

Why is this big news about Keane, It was a red card by the letter of the law. Van Persie I remember got sent off once against Rosenberg for the same thing a while go. People should blame Nani and no one else.

I wouldn't even blame Nani. Still not convinced it was intentional but it doesn't matter. Clumsy at best, violent at worst, ref had no option really given how soft and poofy football is now. I'd never send a player off for it personally though

One of Roy Keane's most admirable qualities is that he will not have spent all morning Googling and hashtag-searching his own name on Twitter to gauge the level of hostility he has provoked among certain Manchester United fans for "crimes" seemingly ranging from treason to apostasy. He simply couldn't care.

On Tuesday night, after his former club's defeat by Real Madrid, he said in his role as an ITV pundit that the decision of the referee, Cuneyt Cakir, to send Nani off was "the right call", an opinion that has inflamed some of the millions who disagree with him and their advice over the past few hours has included proposals that he perform an anatomically impossible act, calls for his sacking by the broadcaster and suggestions on how to spend his "30 pieces of silver".

The oddest thing about the abuse is this sense of betrayal. Some supporters seem to feel genuinely let down by Keane as if his loyalty had somehow become perverted by malice. But how can anyone who has any knowledge of his outspokenness as a player – in 2000 after booing during a Champions League victory over Dynamo Kyiv he said of United's corporate fans "they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, I don't think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell football, never mind understand it", his anger that United linked the rise in season ticket prices in the summer of 2000 to the cost of his new contract, his view that Jaap Stam's transfer to Lazio in 2002 signified football clubs treating players as "pieces of meat" and Saipan – think that he would feel a debt to the club that would curtail his right to be fearlessly frank on television? That he would silence himself?

After all he was even more fearlessly frank and furious on MUTV in October 2005, following Manchester United's 4-1 defeat by Middlesbrough when he was interviewed on the channel's Play the Pundit programme. First he described Kieran Richardson as a "lazy defender", questioned why "people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher" and said of Rio Ferdinand: "Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar." The programme was pulled and the issue became a huge source of embarrassment to the club and particularly Sir Alex Ferguson who decided the best way forward for club and player was to terminate Keane's contract. "I was disappointed the way I was treated at the end, nobody will change that," Keane said last year. "But that doesn't mean to say I'm bitter and twisted towards Man Utd. Far from it."

That, obviously, is not how his critics see it. The very qualities Manchester United fans used to praise – his obdurateness, intolerance for slackness in deed and thought, his perception of himself as a Cork Hercules cleaning up the game's bullshit merchants, his feistiness and lack of sentimentality – are the very ones some now claim to have warped all notions of his duty to the club.

All he said was that he disagreed with the received wisdom that Cakir's interpretation of Nani's collision with Alvaro Arbeloa was wrong. That Nani's boot hit the Real Madrid full-back is a fact. The rest is a debate about the referee's judgment and in Keane's view: "I think the referee has actually made the right call. Everyone's upset about it and it's slightly unlucky, but it's dangerous play. Whether he meant it or not is irrelevant. It was dangerous play – it's a red card. You have to be aware of other players on the pitch. Does he think he's going to have 20 yards to himself?"

When ITV first began the televised football revolution at the 1970 World Cup, Malcolm Allison, Pat Crerand, Bob McNab and Derek Dougan were known as opinionators not pundits. Over the past few years you cannot read anything about the BBC's coverage of football without reading a condemnation of how bland the punditry is and yet when Keane offers what we can only presume given his character is his honest opinion, he is attacked for supposed heresy against Manchester United and hypocrisy because he, too, was once sent off in debatable circumstances.

We know from his famous line about only dead fish going with the flow that he considers the contrarian stance is the honourable one. And while he may enjoy upsetting the cosiness of consensus there is no evidence that he was being insincere or spiteful. Indeed it is his sincerity and directness that makes him such a compelling television presence. If he really has "burned his bridges" with supporters who feel the load of one opinion they disagree with outweighs the substance of 12 years at Old Trafford, Wembley 1996, Anfield 1997, Turin 1999 and all that, well, frankly, good riddance.

You have to remember that the 'United' fans who think it wasn't a red card and Roy was wrong is the fact Roy is now a pundit, not a United player. You can't hate a legend for saying Nani's red card wasn't! By the letter of the football law it was a serious fould and punishment is a red card, end of!

Nani has a previous record of going down 'soflty' if you look at the way he went down after the challenge, he went down crying like a baby. He deserved to be sent off, the challenge was a sending off! But don't have a go at Roy, you might forget he actually played for United!

I kind of agree with what Keane has said and in some points i don't. Im not going to start slating him to the intensity some people have. He's a pundit he's paid to voice his opinion over footballing matters. I think its being blown abit out of proportion as hes an ex united player.

My view on it is the boots gone into the side of Arbeloa its a red card by the book but Nani touches the ball first though only has eyes for the ball and it looks like Arbeloa runs into it so It leaves me with the question,

a player goes to do a bicycle kick in the box and is connecting with the ball then a defender puts his head in the way and gets a boot to the face. Red card or not?

I kind of agree with what Keane has said and in some points i don't. Im not going to start slating him to the intensity some people have. He's a pundit he's paid to voice his opinion over footballing matters. I think its being blown abit out of proportion as hes an ex united player.

My view on it is the boots gone into the side of Arbeloa its a red card by the book but Nani touches the ball first though only has eyes for the ball and it looks like Arbeloa runs into it so It leaves me with the question,

a player goes to do a bicycle kick in the box and is connecting with the ball then a defender puts his head in the way and gets a boot to the face. Red card or not?

In my opinion if a player touches the ball first then everything else is irrelevant. Football is a poofs game now though and you can get sent off for breathing on someone

Utd fans should not really be too perturbed about Roy Keane's comments. His opinion about the red card is just that an opinion and can be taken or left. His comments regarding Rooney though were nothing to do with the game and was probably bourne from a little bitterness. Rather than trying to examine the tactical reasons why Rooney was not started, he decided to speculate and this is where he has let himself down.

A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off and shown the red

card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

1. is guilty of serious foul play

2. is guilty of violent conduct

3. spits at an opponent or any other person

4. denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring oppor-

tunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a

goalkeeper within his own penalty area)

5. denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving

towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick

or a penalty kick

6. uses offensive or insulting or abusive language and/or gestures

7. receives a second caution in the same match

A player, substitute or substituted player who has been sent off and

shown the red card must leave the vicinity of the fi

eld of play and the

technical area.

The only category Nani's foul applies to is the first one of serious foul play. The second one of violent conduct has to be intentional. I see none here. Arbeloa was behind him and he raised his leg to control the ball. He doesn't have 4 eyes, unfortunately, so I wouldn't count this as a serious foul play, but an attempt to control the ball that led to collision between two people rearing up for the same ball. Arbeloa saw Nani go for it; hence, he went for it because he knew Nani would be in serious trouble. Nani didn't see Arbeloa.

Keane may blabber his bitterness as much as he wants and I think this useless punditry job is no outlet to vent out on United and SAF over their bitter issues, but the thing is--it wasn't a red. It was a Yellow because you warn the guy not to go for it, but a red, yeah right?

Referees aren't supposed to be robots as much as our honorary members, UEFA, and the useless "pundits," believe. The referee should use common sense. In a match of such magnitude, in a match that was being played in a clean and honest manner, the referee decides to pull out a controversial decision that only seemed to have benefited the one team it was intended to benefit along with bring as much hype and publicity to the referee. The last point remains the key.

Now, let me remind some of the decisions in Champions League history against English teams as well:

- Lehmann vs. Barca

- van Persie vs. Barca

- Crouch vs. Madrid

- Terry vs. Barca (This one was deserved)

- Nani vs. Madrid

I see a trend. I don't care whether Keane or any pundit sees it or not. English team vs. Spanish team and all. I'll still give the ref a benefit of doubt, but it wasn't a red. It's in no way reckless and Nani doesn't even see Arbeloa coming.

I'm sure UEFA will rest the day they convert football into a roundtable game where footballers would come in wearing Armanis and would speak in the most eloquent manner on who should just be the winner--without having to "play dirty," and just on the basis of "brotherhood" and "nobility."

The corruption, the ludicrousy of football officials to turn football into a UN general meeting, and these has-been players turning into giving us "insights" on matches are some of most pathetic elements of Football.

Football seems no longer about going our there for 90 minutes and playing like mad, but it's about political correctness and how the world should be more pretentious and how we should understand that chiefs such as Blatter and Platini are aiding the game with their amorous insights, tepid decision-making, and severe stupidity of turning the game into something that is not and was never.

Usually think Keane is good when on speaking after games and usually right, however I thought he was wrong re. the red card and the way he was going on was making him look silly. If that red card had been given to one of Keanes player when he was a manager he would have went mental. Don't forget some of Keano's tackles.

It was a yellow card if the ref wasn't a complete cunt and going strictly by the rule book. I've seen worse tackles, challenges get a yellow card.

The shite about Roy Keane's comments being fuelled by bitterness are exactly that. Shite. Is he a bitter person? Most definitely. Is he still resentful at the way he was treated by the club? Of course. Every single thing he said about the players in that unaired MUTV interview (from what I've heard, at least) was 100% spot on and is even more relevant to the players currently at the club.

It's also complete shite that he has some agenda against United or that his comments were preconceived/deliberately made to cause controversy. Roy Keane may be a lot of things but one thing that he is, without any doubts, is honest. He always has been. He was always very honest and harshly critical of himself as a player and he was the same towards his teammates. If he felt that players needed pulling up or telling then they were, without hesitation. If he felt that players weren't performing then they got told. If he felt that players were resting on their laurels and taking it easy then they got told because Keane was as driven as any player ever has been and wanted to win.

There have been countless stories of his will to win even in training games and how seriously he took them. He was a terrible loser and the defeats in big games have always stayed with him more than the many highlights of his career. Once he'd won a trophy he was looking forward to the next challenge and was never one to hark back on any success.

That is what made him such a great captain and that is why he was the heartbeat and the focal point of our great sides. Sure, we had great players like Giggs, Scholes, Cantona etc too but it was Roy Keane that absolutely drove us to such great heights by refusing to accept anything less than 100% and he expected every single player to reach his own high expectations. He led by example on the field, besides the obvious disciplinary problems, and never allowed anyone to shirk.

As for this perceived 'dirtiness' tag, I think it's wrong. Most of his disciplinary issues came when he was wound up over something and players got inside his head (Shearer, McAteer, Haaland etc). His tackling was actually pretty exemplary. My uncle prefers Robson to Keane but he admits that Robbo was a far dirtier player than Keane.

There is nothing hypocritical about Keane's comments. He accepts his sendings off and has never claimed to be hard done by.

All I know is that if we had Roy Keane now we'd be twice as strong as we are and the pathetic drop in standards at the club would never have been allowed to happen.

Quite easily the most important player at the club since Ferguson became manager and the player we've missed most. The best midfielder of the Premier League era in my opinion and by a fucking mile too. He could do everything and he did it well

They should have sent the other guy off for rolling around on the ground. There's no way that 'kick' was that bad. I was going for Real Madrid too.

In an ideal world but football is no longer a working man's game. It's run by public school pansies, sold out to public school pansies and marketed to attract middle class pansies. Any form of masculinity in the game is frowned upon by the powers that be and soon it will be like basketball where you can't touch anyone and someone scores every few minutes

Used to despise Roy Keane for obvious reasons but I actually respect him big time. As a player he was obviously class and as a manager didn't set the world alight, although he done okay at the scum.

Really do like him as a pundit, maybe because he has a personality and is actually interesting unlike 99% of them. Sadly I would put Shearer in the 99%. Gary Neville is a breath of fresh air, gone from being someone everyone hates to the complete opposite, he will make a good manager him.

Nothing more cringeworthy than Andy Townsend and the other gadgie on ITV being biased as fuck towards British teams in the Champions League, watching the Celtic game (I think it was) made me want to explode, fucking clowns.

Alan Shearer is a shit pundit, I have brought it up at least 4000 times on here but the fact he said that when we signed Ben Arfa we signed someone who nobody knew of made me irate.

Ive heard nothing but praise for Neville off United fans. I think he's the best pundit about.

Totally agree, all this information he has about how teams should defend, attack, positioning he should become a manager of a club. He would be pretty good I think. Hopefully he won't be like Shearer, a bit of a disapointment at Newcastle. As long as Neville manages a club no where near United he will do a great job. Perhaps Bournemouth or Wolves!

Totally agree, all this information he has about how teams should defend, attack, positioning he should become a manager of a club. He would be pretty good I think. Hopefully he won't be like Shearer, a bit of a disapointment at Newcastle. As long as Neville manages a club no where near United he will do a great job. Perhaps Bournemouth or Wolves!

He'd be better suited at United, a club he knows from top to bottom as well as all of the coaching staff and the majority of the players, than Wolves or Bournemouth. He'd also have an easier time of it as the fans would back him and he'd inherit a decentish team (albeit a complacent one with an appalling attitude) and have plenty of money available.

Used to despise Roy Keane for obvious reasons but I actually respect him big time. As a player he was obviously class and as a manager didn't set the world alight, although he done okay at the scum.

Really do like him as a pundit, maybe because he has a personality and is actually interesting unlike 99% of them. Sadly I would put Shearer in the 99%. Gary Neville is a breath of fresh air, gone from being someone everyone hates to the complete opposite, he will make a good manager him.

Not necessarily. Some people think Souness is a good pundit (I don't listen as his face makes me angry).

I also don't see why everyone is saying Keane is a good pundit after 1 topic. Before this nobody gave a fuck about him. I think it's easier to be a good pundit on Sky as it is to MOTD or on ITV's joke coverage

Not necessarily. Some people think Souness is a good pundit (I don't listen as his face makes me angry).

I also don't see why everyone is saying Keane is a good pundit after 1 topic. Before this nobody gave a fuck about him. I think it's easier to be a good pundit on Sky as it is to MOTD or on ITV's joke coverage

Gotta admit, I don't really listen to 'em..I don't know what Keane said..I was surprised at the red card but that's the way it goes..and the 'pundits' are there to voice an opinion..what's the big deal?

Used to despise Roy Keane for obvious reasons but I actually respect him big time. As a player he was obviously class and as a manager didn't set the world alight, although he done okay at the scum.

Really do like him as a pundit, maybe because he has a personality and is actually interesting unlike 99% of them. Sadly I would put Shearer in the 99%. Gary Neville is a breath of fresh air, gone from being someone everyone hates to the complete opposite, he will make a good manager him.

Agree with this. You've only got to look at the character of players like him, Neville & Scholes and it's pretty obvious why they were so successful. As well as being class players, their attitude was fantastic, passionate about the game and winning at it.

It's safe to say through a lot of my growing up watching football I've naturally thought "oh fuck off Man Utd" but you can't argue with what they've done really. I think the Premier League misses characters like these big time.

He is a cunt. Breaking someone's leg because they accused you of diving when you injured yourself is not an excuse to break someone's leg, you wouldn't defend him for it if he wasn't such a great played for United.